In addition to the traditional graduation related festivities, seniors could add the Lavender Grad Reception to their schedules this year. The reception, held on May 20, celebrated the achievements of LGTBQI seniors.
The event was well attended by both LGBTQI and allied students as well as by several administrators. In her speech, Associate Director for Campus Life and LGBTQ Programs Julie Silverstein spoke about the variety of meanings that being an LGBTQI student has at Vassar. According to Silverstein, the impressive turnout at the reception was a sign of the impact that the LGBTQI community has had on the greater Vassar community.
President of the Class of 2009 Luis Hoyos focused his remarks on his experiences as a gay man at Vassar—coming out to the community and gradually becoming more and more involved. “Vassar has a unique capacity to empower student leaders to not only be who they are, but also to use who they are,” he said.
While Vassar is generally considered to be a very open and accepting place for the LGBTQI community, the organizers of the reception hoped that this event would call together all members of the Vassar community in a show of solidarity.
Though many identity-specific events exist at Vassar, some frustration remained that acceptance of the LGBTQ presence on campus had become a given, so the reception was meant to bring the community together. According to President of the Queer Coalition of Vassar College (QCVC) Phillipe Kleefield ’09, “I think now it’s important because with the normalization of gay men and the greater acceptance of it, there is a tendency to not necessarily want to come together anymore.”
Despite the existence of organizations devoted to queer and LGBTQI issues, the event was sponsored by the LGBTQ Center and the Campus Life Office. The senior class offered support by publicizing the event and adding it to the official Senior Week schedule. “I was intentional about not co-sponsoring with any student organizations, because I wanted to make this event as inclusive as possible to the entire senior class,” wrote Silverstein in an e-mailed statement. During the reception, Silverstein acknowledged all of the LGBTQI organizations—QCVC, Intersextions, ACT OUT! and Transmissions—and their leaders.
“I think a lot of the student organizations, they already have some preconceived ideas of what they do and what they are, and I think it would have created a certain sense of, ‘Oh we know what this event is going to be already,’” said Kleefield. “A lot of our orgs have certain target niches of people that come to the events, so we want it to be more of an umbrella.”
As a visible display of the common bond that LGBTQI and allied students share, seniors who attend the reception were given rainbow tassels to wear with their caps and gowns, though Silverstein stressed that it is entirely optional to wear it to commencement.
Despite the emphasis on visibility, the event’s organizers planned with due sensitivity for LGBTQI students. Hoyos noted that reception was planned relatively early in senior week to protect any students who had not yet come out to their families. While the reception is meant to celebrate Vassar’s commitment to an open community, the goal was not to out anyone, and the point of the occasion is less about the queer and LGBTQI presence on campus than it is about furthering Vassar’s commitment to an accepting atmosphere.
Although other identity-based graduation events, such as the Graduation Reception for Students of Color, have been traditions for several years, this is the first year that the LGBTQI community have had one to call their own. “I think it was an idea that just needed the right energy to make happen, both from administrators and students,” wrote Associate Dean of the College Edward Pittman ’82 in an e-mailed statement.
“I wish I had started earlier, but I think that there’s something about being a senior that you feel like you can do more and get things done,” said Kleefield.
Hoyos is looking forward to wearing his tassel and making it particularly visible as he gives his commencement speech. “If there’s any day to make a statement,” he said, “it’s Commencement.”
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